Method and apparatus for distributing articles in a storage compartment

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for distributing articles made by series production is configured to deliver articles to selected storage positions in side-by-side rows of adjacent storage positions for stacked articles in a storage compartment. After selection of a storage position, a transport platform movably mounted on a horizontally movable carriage above the rows is driven to a location above the selected storage position with the platform moved between two possible positions for dispensing articles into the respective rows, an article conveyor on the platform is actuated to transport the article off the platform into the underlying storage position, where it is stacked on top of any previously stacked articles, and the platform is driven back to a start position to receive the next article. The procedure is repeated to distribute subsequent articles to selected storage positions in the storage area.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a method for distributing articles madeby series production into a storage compartment, and an apparatus forperforming the method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Articles manufactured by series production, particularly packagedarticles such as bagged candy, bagged ice cubes, and the like, are oftendispensed into a storage compartment. Machines for making ice anddelivering bags with loose ice cubes may be deployed in supermarkets.Such machines are designed with a top part with an ice cube machine anda central packing machine packing the ice cubes loosely in bags, and alower part with a storage compartment from where the filled ice cubebags are supplied as the customer opens an access door to the storagecompartment, providing himself with a desired number of ice cube bags.Examples of such machines are described in the applicant's patentapplications WO 2008/089762 and US Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0024363.

One problem with such machines is that the bags fall down into thestorage compartment over the same position. Over time, a stack of bagsforms a pyramid. This causes the storage compartment to be badlyutilized as it can only be partially filled, resulting in low capacityfor a storage compartment of a given size. The pyramid of stacked bagsrapidly reaches the top of the compartment, so now bags cannot be addeduntil some are removed for purchase.

Due to the lower capacity of the storage compartment, the ice cubemachine is dimensioned with a relatively high capacity in order to copewith peak loads. These may occur, for example, in connection withfestivals or other events, or when the outdoor temperature risessuddenly because of change in weather.

The problem has hitherto been solved by the staff in the supermarketperforming a manual leveling of the ice cube bags in the storagecompartment at short intervals. This manual leveling is a problem due towork safety considerations that limit the time in which the employeesare allowed to work with frozen products, and a desire to release theemployees' resources for other purposes in the supermarket.

The machine will also find application in connection with distributionof serially produced articles in a storage compartment wheredistribution of the articles in an even layer is wanted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatusthat evenly distributes articles, in particular bags with ice cubes madein a large number, in a storage compartment, particularly in an ice cubedistribution machine in a supermarket, as well as other applicationsinvolving distribution of serially produced articles in a storagecompartment where distribution of the articles in an even layer iswanted.

In one embodiment, an apparatus for distributing articles into a storagecompartment is provided, which comprises a storage compartment having anupper end, a lower end, opposite sides, a front and a rear, the lowerend of the compartment being of predetermined dimensions for storage offirst and second side by side stacked article rows, each stacked articlerow having a plurality of article stacking positions along its length, ahorizontal conveyor located adjacent the upper end of the compartmentand extending along the length of the stacked article rows, a carriagemounted on the conveyor, a first drive device carriage drive which isconfigured to drive the carriage back and forth along the conveyor, anarticle support platform movably mounted on the carriage and configuredto receive articles from an article supplier above the platform, theplatform having opposite ends, an article dispenser on the carriageconfigured to a dispense an article on the platform in a dispensingdirection off at least a first end of the platform, a second or platformdrive device linked to the platform for moving the platform between afirst, inner position in which the first end of the platform ispositioned above the first article row, whereby articles are dispensedin a first direction off the first end of the platform to drop into thefirst article row, and a second, outer position in which the first endof the platform is positioned above the second article row, wherebyarticles are dispensed off the first end of the platform to drop intothe second article row.

In one embodiment, the article dispenser comprises a conveyor belt onthe article support platform, each article being received on theconveyor belt in a first orientation in which one side of the articlefaces upwards, and the conveyor belt is actuated to convey the articleoff the first end of the platform so that the article turns over as itrotates off the end of the platform with an opposite side of the articlefacing upward when the article falls onto the stack in the selecteddispensing position. This helps to position all articles in a stack inthe same orientation, for example with a label facing upwards.

In one embodiment, a control system or controller is provided forcontrolling operation of the first and second drive devices and thearticle dispenser to dispense articles into predetermined locations inthe respective article rows, so that the heights of stacks of articlesin each row are relatively uniform and space in the storage compartmentis efficiently utilized. One or more detectors may be positioned fordetecting the height of the article stacks at each stacking position inthe two side-by-side article rows, and a drive control module associatedwith the drive devices determines the sequence for selection of thestacking position for dispensing or discharging of each articleaccording to the following steps:

-   -   detecting degree of filling in each stacking position in the two        side-by-side rows of stacking positions in the storage        compartment;    -   comparing degrees of filling;    -   selecting a discharge area on the basis of the comparison, so        that articles are dispensed at stacking positions having a lower        degree of filling. The controller controls the carriage drive to        drive the carriage to a position corresponding to lower fill        stacking position in one of the rows, and controls the platform        drive to move the platform into position to dispense an article        into the first or second row, depending on which row has more        stacking capacity at that position to receive another article.        The detector may be located on the carriage or platform in order        to collect information on the current degree of filling of the        stacked rows of articles at each stacking position as the        carriage is driven back and forth along the conveyor.

In one embodiment, a method for controlling distribution of articlesinto two rows of stacked articles in a storage compartment comprisesselecting at least one stacking position in a storage compartment from aplurality of stacking positions in first and second side-by-side rows ofarticle stacking positions in a storage compartment, receiving anarticle onto a transport platform on a conveyor assembly positionedabove the stacking positions, driving the transport platformhorizontally to a selected position in which the transport platform islocated above the selected stacking position, and actuating an articledispenser to dispense the article from the platform into the selectedstacking position in the first or second row. The method in oneembodiment further comprises moving the platform between first andsecond dispensing positions, the first position being used fordispensing articles off a dispensing end of the platform into positionsin the first row and the second position being used for dispensingarticles off the dispensing end of the platform into positions in thesecond row. The carriage drive in one embodiment may be actuated todrive the transport platform back and forth along the entire length ofthe conveyor at predetermined intervals, so that a detector on theplatform may collect information on the current heights of stackedarticles at the stacking positions in the two rows, which is thenprocessed by a controller in order to determine positions which have themost stacking capacity so as to select the next stacking position forreceiving an article, with the objective of leveling the articlestacking heights at each position. In one embodiment, the platform isrotatably mounted on the carriage for movement between a firstorientation corresponding to the first position and a second orientationcorresponding to the second position for dispensing articles into thefirst and second row, respectively.

The apparatus and method may be used in ice cube distribution machinesfor installation in supermarkets where the ice cubes are made in situaccording to need, and are packed immediately into bags, before beingdistributed into a temperature controlled storage compartment under theice cube machine.

The apparatus and method can be applied to other types of machines thanice cube distribution machines, where a large number of articles areproduced centrally above a storage compartment in which the articles areto be evenly distributed in order to utilize the capacity of the storagecompartment. Examples of such applications could be in connection with aplastic injection molding machine where a large number of articles areproduced centrally, or in connection with packing and supplying othertypes of foods, e.g. vegetables or confectionery.

In connection with systems where one or more users take articles fromthe storage compartment, the degree of filling at the stacking positionsmay be different due to the fact that the articles are taken from thestacking positions at different rates. By actively detecting the degreeof filling in the individual stacking positions and adapting thesequence of selecting stacking positions on the basis of a comparison ofthe degrees of filling in each stacking position, a leveling that takesaccount of user interaction may be achieved. The capability of stackingbags in two side-by-side rows further increases the storage capacity.

In a particularly simple way there is hereby achieved the ability ofdispensing articles from an overhead conveyor into selected stackingpositions in two side-by-side rows of stacking positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference tothe accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of an ice making,bagging and distributing machine;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bagged ice freezer and storagecompartment of the machine of FIG. 1, with the front wall removed toreveal one embodiment of an article distributing apparatus mounted in anupper portion of the storage compartment;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the distributing apparatus of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the distributing apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5A is a top plan view of the distributing apparatus with thearticle or bag support platform in a first transport and dischargeposition on the carriage for distributing bags into a first row of bagstacking positions in the storage area;

FIG. 5B is a top plan view similar to FIG. 5A illustrating rotation ofthe support platform from the first position of FIG. 5A towards a seconddischarge position;

FIG. 5C is a top plan view similar to FIGS. 5A and 5B but illustratingthe support platform rotated into a second discharge position fordistributing bags into a second row of bag stacking positions in thestorage area;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the distributing apparatus of FIGS. 3 to 5;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the distributing apparatus of FIGS. 3 to6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the support platform of the distributingapparatus of FIGS. 3 to 7;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation showing part of the distributing apparatusin a receiving position under an opening in a dividing wall between theice making and bagging units of the machine and the storage compartment,with a bag received on the bag supporting and distributing platform andthe platform in the first discharge position of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 10 illustrates the platform transported from the position of FIG. 9and rotated into the second discharge position of FIG. 5C;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the storage area in the base of thestorage compartment of FIG. 2, illustrating the rows of stacked bagstorage positions;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a controlsystem for controlling operation of the bag distributing apparatus ofFIGS. 2 to 10

FIGS. 13A to 13C are schematic top plan views of the carriage and thebag support platform at different positions during transport anddistribution of bags;

FIGS. 13D to 13F are schematic front elevation views of the carriage andthe bag support platform illustrating a bag being discharged from afront end of the platform to fall into a storage position in one of theunderlying stacked bag storage rows;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating the bagdistributing apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 13; and

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of selecting a bag dropposition for each bag received onto the distributing apparatus.

In the explanation of the Figures, identical or corresponding elementswill be provided with the same designations in different Figures.Therefore, no explanation of all details will be given in connectionwith each single Figure/embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments as disclosed herein provide a method and apparatusfor distributing articles from an article production machine intopredetermined article stacking positions in an article storage area fromwhich consumers can retrieve one or more articles. In one embodiment,the article production machine is an ice making, bagging and dispensingmachine and the storage area is in a freezer compartment beneath the icemaking and bagging units of the machines with a bagged ice distributingapparatus positioned in the freezer compartment to receive bags of icesuccessively from the ice bagging unit and to discharge or distributethe bags at selected locations in the compartment so as to achieve arelatively even distribution of stacked bags of ice throughout thecompartment.

After reading this description it will become apparent to one skilled inthe art how to implement the invention in various alternativeembodiments and alternative applications. However, although variousembodiments of the present invention will be described herein, it isunderstood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only,and not limitation. As such, this detailed description of variousalternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope orbreadth of the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment described below, the article distributionapparatus is used to transport ice in bags to selected positions above astorage area in a freezer or temperature controlled compartment, and todischarge or distribute the bags into stacks in the storage area.However, it will be understood that the same distribution apparatus maybe used in other applications, for example in any serial productionapplication where a large number of articles are produced centrallyabove a storage compartment in which the articles are to be evenlydistributed in order to utilize the capacity of the storage compartment.Examples of such applications could be in connection with a plasticinjection molding machine where a large number of articles are producedcentrally, or in connection with packing and supplying other types offoods in bags or other containers, e.g. vegetables or confectionery.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a bagged ice dispensing machine 10which has an upper, ice making unit 12, an ice collecting and baggingunit 14, and a freezer storage compartment or merchandiser 15 beneaththe ice collecting and bagging unit. The ice collecting and bagging unit14 may be the same as described in co-pending patent application Ser.No. 12/580,146 filed on Oct. 15, 2009, the entire contents of which areincorporated by reference herein. One or more ice making machines (notillustrated) are located in the ice making unit or housing 12, anddispense ice in cubes or pieces into ice collectors 13 which direct theice in a transport path towards a bag making station 17, where the iceis collected into partially formed bags which are then sealed. Sealedbags 16 are dropped through an opening 18 into the storage compartment,as described in more detail below. The bagged ice distribution apparatusdescribed herein replaces the bag distributor unit described in theprior application, and is mounted in an upper part of the compartment 15in a suitable position to collect bags of ice dispensed from the icecollecting and bagging unit 14, as illustrated in the drawings.

FIGS. 2 to 10 illustrate one embodiment of an article distributingapparatus or unit 20 suitable for distributing bagged ice or otherserially manufactured articles to desired stacking locations in astorage compartment such as compartment 15 of FIGS. 1 and 2. In theillustrated embodiment, compartment 15 is also a merchandiser ordispenser from which customers can retrieve articles such as bags of icefor purchase. A dividing wall 27 is provided between the ice collectingand bagging unit 14 and the storage or freezer compartment 15. Theapparatus 20 is mounted in an upper portion of the storage compartmentbeneath an opening 18 through which articles such as bags 16 of ice aredistributed onto the apparatus, as best illustrated in FIG. 9, and abovea storage area in the compartment. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 10,apparatus 20 basically comprises a horizontal conveyor 22, a carriage 24mounted on the conveyor and movable back and forth in a horizontaldirection on the conveyor, and a bag or article support platform orturntable 25 rotatably mounted on carriage 24 for rotation between twoor more possible orientations for distributing bags into the storagearea, as described in more detail below.

The horizontal conveyor 22 comprises a back plate or mounting plate 26having a rail or track 28 on which the carriage 24 is slidably mounted(see FIG. 6), an endless conveyor belt or chain 29 extending aroundrollers 30 at opposite ends of the track, with the carriage 24 suitablylinked to the chain in a known manner, and a conveyor drive or gearmotor 32 mounted at one end of back plate 26. Motor 32 drives one of therollers 30 which acts as a drive roller for the conveyor belt. Asillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, mounting brackets 23 are secured to thetop of back plate 26 for securing the distributing apparatus 20 to anupper wall 27 of storage compartment 15. Article or bag support platform25 is rotatably mounted on a horizontal extension or support arm 33 ofcarriage or turntable 24 via pivot connection 35, as best illustrated inFIGS. 3 to 7. Platform 25 is rotated by platform drive or gear motor 34between a first orientation as illustrated in FIG. 5A in which it facesoutwardly from track or rail 24 for distributing bags into an outer rowB of adjacent bag stacking positions B1, B2, B3 . . . BN in the base orlower wall 36 of storage compartment 15 (see FIGS. 2, 5 and 10), and asecond orientation as illustrated in FIG. 5C in which it faces in adirection parallel with rail 24 for distributing bags into an inner rowA of adjacent bag stacking positions A1, A2, A3 . . . AN. FIG. 5Billustrates a partial rotation of the platform 25 between the first andsecond orientations of FIGS. 5A and 5C.

An article conveyor or conveyor belt 38 is mounted on platform 25 forconveying bags or other articles selectively off first or second ends40, 41 of the platform and into the inner or outer row A, B of stackedbags, depending on the orientation of the platform when the conveyor 38is activated. Conveyor 38 extends around guide rollers or wheels 42 atopposite ends of platform 25 and is driven by bag or discharge conveyordrive or gear motor 44 which rotates one of the rear rollers 42. In theillustrated embodiment, the article conveyor 38 comprises a pair ofendless chains 70 each extending around a respective pair of rollers 42at the front and rear end of the platform and a plurality of transversecross bars 72 extending between the chains, but alternative conveyorssuch as an endless conveyor belt or band on which a bag is carried maybe provided in alterative embodiments. In other alternative embodiments,the article conveyor may be a pusher device or the like rather than aconveyor belt on which the article is carried.

Opposite ends 40, 41 of the bag conveyor 38 are rounded, as illustratedin FIGS. 8 to 10 and 13D to 13F, which tends to overturn bags of ice asthey are dropped off the conveyor, as described in more detail below. Apair of detectors 45 are mounted on the lower face of arm 33 whichsupports platform 28 to detect the height of stacked bags in the twostorage rows, as described in more detail below. Additional detectors(not illustrated) may be located at different positions on the platform.Other detectors may be associated with each of the conveyors and thedrive devices to provide input to a controller so that the carriage andplatform can be moved to the desired positions based on programming ofthe controller and input from the various detectors, as discussed inmore detail below. Alternatively, stationary detectors on the lower faceof wall 27 may be positioned to detect bag height in each of the bagreceiving positions in each row.

As described patent application Ser. No. 12/580,146 referenced above, apartially formed bag at bag forming and filling station in the unit 14is filled with ice until a predetermined weight is reached. Duringfilling, the lower end of the bag is suspended through the opening 18between units 14 and 15 above distribution apparatus 20 so that the iceis within the freezer compartment, to reduce melting. At the start of abag distribution procedure, the platform 25 is located in a startposition beneath opening 18. When the desired weight of ice in bag 16 isreached, more film is fed to the bag forming and filling station and thepartially filled bag is lowered onto bag receiving platform 25 of thedistribution apparatus 20 until its lower end rests on the conveyor 38.The platform conveyor drive 44 is then actuated to drive the conveyor 38rearward until the film is stretched. The sealing bar (not illustrated)in the bag forming and filling station is then closed. The conveyordrive 44 is actuated to drive the conveyor 38 forward to take thetension of the film before sealing. The sealing bar is then actuated toform a seal across the top of the bag and a cut is made to detach thebag from the next bag length of film material, as described in patentapplication Ser. No. 12/580,146 referenced above. The bag then fallsonto the conveyor into the position illustrated in FIG. 9. The conveyordrive 44 is again actuated to drive the conveyor rearward, overturningthe filled bag and placing it in a horizontal position, as illustratedin FIG. 9. Operation of the components of unit 14 and unit 20 duringpositioning of a bag on the platform prior to distribution into thecompartment 12 are controlled and coordinated by ice making and baggingcontroller 102 and bag distribution controller 100 (see FIG. 12). Theice making and bagging controller 102 is described in application Ser.No. 12/580,146 referenced above and incorporated herein by reference,and reference is made to that application for a detailed description ofcontroller 102.

The storage compartment 15 in the illustrated embodiment has twoside-by-side rows A, B of bag storage positions A1, A2, A3 . . . , etc.and B1, B2, B3 . . . , etc, in the base of the compartment, asillustrated in FIG. 11. A greater or lesser number of storage positionsand storage rows may be provided in alternative embodiments, dependingon the dimensions of the storage compartment. FIG. 12 illustrates acontrol system which controls the sequence of bag dropping into thestorage positions so as to maintain the height of stacked bags at eachstorage position approximately level. Controller 100 has a fill leveldetection module 110 which is programmed to periodically monitor theheight of stacked bags at each storage position based on input fromdetectors 45 as the platform 25 is driven back and forth along the innerand outer rows, and to calculate the positions with the lowest filllevel, and a distribution control module 112 which controls thehorizontal conveyor drive 32, the platform rotational drive 34, and theplatform conveyor drive 44 to drive the platform to a selected drop ordischarge position above a storage position selected based on thecurrent fill level information from module 110. Detector information foruse in selection of the next discharge position may be gathered both asthe platform is being driven to a currently selected bag dischargeposition, and in periodic detection sequences in which the platform isdriven along the entire length of each row while empty. The objective isleveling of the multiple bag stacks. Different storage positions mayhave an order of preference such that when different storage positionshave about the same fill level or are empty, the controller selects adischarge position using the order of preference.

The front wall 50 of the compartment has doors 52 for access bycustomers to the interior of the compartment in order to retrieve one ormore bags of ice for purchase. Door opening detectors 104 (FIG. 12) maybe associated with the doors for detecting opening of the doors, asdescribed in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 12/580,146referenced above. The controller 100 also monitors the number of times adoor is opened and may initiate a fill level detection sequence if thebag is opened more than a predetermined number of times within a certaintime period, and may also provide a control signal to ice making andbagging controller 102 increase the speed of the ice making, bag makingand bag filling procedure in times of increased purchase of bagged ice,for example during holiday seasons and in hot weather. Controllers 100and 102 are also configured to switch off the ice making, collecting andbagging as well as the distribution apparatus 20 while a door is open,since bags should not be dropped into the compartment 15 while acustomer is retrieving one or more bags of ice, as well as when thestorage compartment is full to capacity at each bag stacking position.

In one embodiment, each detector 45 may be a proximity or distancedetector such as an infra red (IR) sensor, a photoelectric sensor, orthe like which detects the height of successive stacks of bags in eachof the rows and provides the height or fill level information to thecontroller 100, which stores the information and also determines acurrent bag drop sequence based on the fill level information. Thedetector may simply detect whether or not a stack of bags is at themaximum available height (i.e. the storage position is full), or maydetermine distance to the top of a stack, so that the controller orprocessor 100 can determine if a storage position is completely empty,as well as the approximate bag stack height or amount of fill of thestack. The latter is preferred since the controller may then beprogrammed to control the distributing apparatus 20 to maintain thestacks as level as possible, i.e. dropping bags at selected locations tokeep the stack heights relatively even. The sensors on the platformsupport arm 33 are positioned so that stack heights at aligned positionsin both rows may be determined simultaneously.

The sensing sequence for detectors 45 with the arrangement of bag droppositions in FIG. 11 is six sensor outputs corresponding to the bag droppositions 1 to 6, with two outputs at each sensor output position, i.e.a total of twelve sensor outputs. The lowest points detected are storedand sent to controller 100 for determining the bag delivery odistribution sequence. The bag delivery sequence is controlled to dropbags at the lowest detected positions from the previous sensingsequence. Sensing may be performed during bag distribution on wherever apredetermined number of door openings is detected. In one embodiment, aninitial fill sequence for a completely empty storage compartment may beA1, A2, A3 . . . AN, followed by B1, B2, B3 . . . BN, referring to FIG.11, where N is the total number of bag stacking positions in each row.In alternative embodiments, other initial sequences may be used, such asA1, B1, A2, B2 . . . and so on, or A1 . . . AN, BN . . . B1. A first bagis deposited at a first bag stacking position in the selected sequence,then a second bag at the second position, and so on until bags areremoved by customers or each position is stacked with bags to themaximum height, i.e. the compartment is 100% full. If the compartment iscompletely full, the ice making and bagging unit 14 and distributorapparatus or unit 20 may be turned off until bags have been removed andre-filling is required. Unit 14 and the bag distributing unit orapparatus 20 are also turned off when a door open detection signal isreceived, so that bags are not dropped into the freezer compartment whena customer is attempting to remove one or more bags of ice for purchase.

As noted above, the degree of filling of the individual bag storage orstacking positions is detected by one or more detectors when a bag isbeing carried to a drop position or when a scan is made with theplatform 25 empty, or both, as described above. If there are any lowstacking positions, the re-fill sequence may follow the same basicpreference or order as described above. For example, say positions A3,A6, B1 and B4 are detected to be empty or partially empty, or lower thanother stacking positions and if they are all at the same fill capacity,the fill sequence may be A3, A6, B1, B4, A3, A6, B1, B4, and so on untileach position is completely filled, unless other positions are detectedto be completely or partially emptied in the meantime, in which case theother positions are simply added to the sequence. The lowest detectedposition receives bags before any other position.

One embodiment of a bag transport and discharge method using theapparatus of FIGS. 1 to 12 is illustrated in the flow diagram of FIG.14. On start up of the machine 10 (step 110), ice making and bagging iscontrolled by the controller 102 of unit 14, while bag distributioncontroller 100 of FIG. 12 controls bag transport and distributing unit20. FIG. 9 illustrates a bag 16 which has just dropped down onto the bagtransport platform 25 which is positioned in a start positionimmediately under an opening 18 in wall 27 between ice making andbagging unit 14 and storage compartment 15. The opening 18 is locatedunder the bag forming and filling station of the ice making and baggingunit so that a filled bag extends through the opening before the upperend of the bag is sealed and cut. As described above, the lower end ofthe bag may rest on the platform 25 during the sealing and cuttingprocedure, with the platform conveyor driven forward and rearward totake up slack in the film forming the bag. Once sealing and cutting iscomplete, the bag of ice drops down onto the platform 25 (step 112). Asuitable detector (not illustrated) may be located on the platform todetect when a bag is received on the platform, or a signal from the bagforming and filling station may be sent to controller 100 each time abag is sealed and cut off. The platform conveyor drive is then driven inreverse a short distance (i.e. from the first to the second end of theplatform) so as to place the bag in a horizontal orientation on theplatform (step 113). The bag is illustrated in the horizontal positionin FIGS. 9 and 10. The next storage position for dropping or dischargingthe bag from platform 25 is then selected using information from thedetector sensing sequence (step 114). One possible method for selectinga sequence of bag drop positions is illustrated in FIG. 15 and describedin more detail below. Once a drop position has been selected, thecontroller determines whether the selected position is in the inner orouter row (step 115).

The flow diagram of FIG. 14 assumes that the platform is in an outerfacing position of FIG. 5A when the bag is dropped onto the platform, asin FIG. 9. However, it may alternatively be positioned in theorientation of FIGS. 5C and 10 at the start of the procedure of FIG. 14.At step 115, if the platform is already in the orientation of FIG. 5Aready to drop bags into the outer row B, and the selected bag dropposition is in row B, the platform is driven to the selected bag dropposition in step 116. If the platform is in the orientation of FIG. 5Abut the selected bag drop position is in the inner row A, the platformis first rotated into the orientation for dropping bags into the innerrow (step 118), and the platform is then driven to the selected innerrow position in step 116. This procedure is reversed if the platform isalready oriented to drop bags into the inner row, as in FIG. 5C, withthe platform being rotated back into the outer row drop orientation ofFIG. 5A before proceeding to step 116 if the selected position is in theouter row. Alternatively, the platform may be rotated into the requiredorientation on arrival at the selected bag drop position.

Once the platform is at the selected bag drop position, the platformconveyor drive 44 is actuated to drive the bag off the end of theplatform (step 120). If the selected position is in the outer row B, theplatform is oriented as in FIG. 5A and the platform conveyor is drivenin a first direction to drive the bag off the first end 40 of theplatform so that it drops into the selected storage position in row B.If the selected discharge position is in the inner row at step 120, theplatform is oriented as illustrated in FIG. 5C and FIG. 10, with bothends 40 and 41 of the platform positioned directly above storagepositions in row A. In this case, the platform conveyor drive 44 isactuated in either a first direction or a second, reverse direction todrive the bag off the first end 40 or second end 41 of the platform(depending on the location of the selected discharge position). Theplatform is then returned to the start position beneath the bag dropopening 18 (step 122).

In an alternative method, the platform may rotated back into theorientation of FIG. 5A either before or after it is driven back to thestart position. This may be done when a subsequent bag is to bedeposited in the outer row, for example, or may be standard procedure.As noted above, in another alternative method, the platform may bepositioned in the inner or outer drop orientation, depending on whetherthe next bag drop position is in the inner or outer row, on arrival atthe bag drop location rather than prior to driving the platform to thebag drop location as illustrated in FIG. 14.

The method of transporting and distributing a bag is also illustratedschematically in the simplified view of the bag transport platform andcarriage in FIGS. 13A to 13F. FIG. 13A illustrates a position ofplatform 25 oriented for distributing bags into the outer row, and inthe start position under the bag drop opening 18 with a bag on top ofthe platform conveyor and shifted into a horizontal orientation with oneface 16A of the bag facing upwards. FIG. 13B illustrates a subsequentposition when the carriage and platform have been driven away from theposition of FIG. 13A and towards a selected bag discharge position. FIG.13C illustrates the platform in a rotated position for discharging bagsinto the inner row A. FIGS. 13D to 13F are front elevation views of theplatform in the position of FIG. 13C illustrating how a bag on theconveyor 38 is driven off the first end of the platform. As illustrated,the conveyor is configured so that the bag is turned over as it dropsoff the end of the platform. The bag then falls down on top of a stackof bags in the storage position with the opposite face 16B upwards. Inthis way, the stacking is controlled such that all bags in each row arestored with the same face of the bag facing upwards. The upward face maybe arranged to have the desired label information for a customerconsidering purchase of the product. In other words, the bag forming andfilling station is arranged with the bag film having printed labelinformation on face 16B which faces outwards as the bag is droppedthrough opening 18. When the platform conveyor is driven rearwards, thebag rotates down into a transport position with face 16A of the bagfacing upwards. Thus, when the bag is conveyed off the first end 40 orsecond end 41 of the platform, the bag turns over and falls to thestorage position with the desired face 16B of the bag facing upwards.

FIG. 15 illustrates one possible method for determining a bag dropsequence and selecting a bag drop or discharge position for each new bagreceived on platform 25. On initial start up (step 124) of machine 10with the storage compartment 15 empty, i.e. when machine 10 is firstinstalled, a predetermined fill sequence is used to start to fill thecompartment with bags of ice. This may be A1, A2, . . . AN, B1, B2, . .. BN as described above, or any other alternative, efficient fillsequence covering all the possible storage positions. The controller 100controls the various drives of the distributing apparatus to start tofill the compartment according to the predetermined sequence (step 125).At the same time, the current fill levels of the various storagepositions are monitored by the controller (step 126), using the outputsof the fill level detector or detectors which scan the various storagepositions in each row as the platform is driven back and forth along thelength of the rows A,B. Scanning may take place while bags are beingcarried and distributed, or in separate scanning sequences while theplatform is empty, or both.

If all storage positions are full to capacity in rows A and B at step127, the ice making, collecting, and bag filling units and thedistributing apparatus 20 are turned off at step 128. After expiry of apredetermined time period (step 130), or detection of repeated openingsof the compartment doors indicating that bags of ice are being removedfor purchase, the platform conveyor is activated to drive the platformback and forth to locate any partially filled or low storage positions(step 126). If storage positions with fill capacity are detected at step127, and the ice making, collecting and bagging units are on (Step 127),the controller operates the distributing apparatus to continue to fillthe lowest detected storage positions which have capacity to receivemore bags (step 134), and monitoring continues at step 126. If the icemaking, collecting, and bagging units are off or inactive at step 127,they are turned back on (step 135) to supply filled bags to thedistributing apparatus, and the controller proceeds to control thedistributing apparatus to distribute bags to the storage positionsdetected to have fill capacity at step 134.

Although the support platform in the foregoing embodiment is rotatedbetween first and second orientations to deliver bags or articles intofirst and second side-by-side rows of storage positions, alternativeembodiments may comprise non-rotational movement of the platform betweenfirst and second spaced horizontal delivery positions relative to thecarriage, where the platform may be in the same orientation in bothdelivery positions. For example, the platform oriented as in FIG. 5C maybe driven linearly in a direction transverse to conveyor back plate 22from the position in FIG. 5C to an outwardly spaced position over thesecond row B, with the support arm 33 extended and acting as a track forthe linear movement between the two platform positions. A furtherextension of arm 33 may allow for more than two rows of stacked bags orarticles in other embodiments where increased storage compartment sizeand storage capacity is desired.

The method and apparatus described above allows bags filled with ice orother serially produced articles to be successively delivered to storagepositions in two side-by-side rows of storage positions. Rather thanbeing randomly and inefficiently stacked in a single pile forming apyramid, the bags are relatively evenly distributed in separate stacksacross the entire storage area, increasing storage capacity. Inalternative embodiments, only one storage row may be provided with onlyone orientation of the storage platform to dispense bags off oppositeends of the platform into storage positions in the single row, or agreater number of storage rows may be provided with more alternativeorientations of the conveyor platform 25 to dispense into differentrows. Rows with six storage positions are shown by way of example inFIG. 11, but a greater or lesser number of storage positions may beprovided in alternative embodiments, depending on the size of the bag orarticle to be distributed, as well as the dimensions of the storagecompartment 15. In the illustrated embodiment, the distributingapparatus 20 is controlled and the support platform 25 is designed sothat bags are oriented horizontally on the conveyor platform 25 with afirst face facing upwards as the platform is driven to a drop offposition. The platform conveyor and rounded ends are designed so thatbags tend to rotate as they are rolled off the platform, flipping orturning over and dropping into an underlying pile of bags with a secondface facing upwards. The arrangement is such that bags tend to alwaysflip through one half revolution as they fall off the platform, and landin the same orientation on top of each stack, regardless of the stackheight. This helps to maintain even stacking of bags in adjacent stacksor piles along the length of each row, while allowing a desired face ofthe bag with consumer information to face upwards to provide informationto consumers considering purchase.

The article distribution apparatus and method described above organizesproducts in substantially uniform stacks so that it is relatively easyfor customers to pick up a product such as a bag of ice. This alsoincreases storage capacity by 50%, and reduces labor costs previouslyincurred when personnel had to manually level uneven stacks of baggedice. The degree of filling of the compartment can be remotely monitoredwith the monitoring used to control both ice making and bagdistribution. This allows quicker start up and more efficientutilization of the ice making units, which can be turned off whenmonitoring indicates that the storage compartment is completely full,and re-started as soon as the level of stacked bags is detected to beuneven or low.

The article distribution method and apparatus is described above inconnection with an ice machine in which ice chunks or cubes are made,collected, directed into partially formed bags at a bag making andfilling station, and the bagged ice is then dropped onto thedistribution apparatus for distribution into a storage compartment toform substantially uniform and even stacks of bagged ice. However, theapparatus and method may also be used in other applications where alarge number of articles are produced centrally above a storagecompartment in which the articles are to be evenly distributed, in orderto utilize the capacity of the storage compartment. Examples of suchapplications are plastic injection molding machines where a large numberof articles are produced centrally, or in connection with packing andsupplying other types of articles or foods in bags or other containers,e.g. vegetables, snack foods, confectionary, office supplies, electroniccomponents, or the like. For non-food articles, the storage compartmentmay not need to be temperature controlled. In each case, the articlesmay be dispensed into a storage compartment at a store which also actsas a merchandiser for the articles, or in a storage facility where thearticles may be later packaged and shipped.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and method steps described inconnection with the above described figures and the embodimentsdisclosed herein can often be implemented as electronic hardware,computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate thisinterchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been describedabove generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled persons can implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the invention. In addition, the grouping of functions within amodule, block, circuit or step is for ease of description. Specificfunctions or steps can be moved from one module, block or circuit toanother without departing from the invention.

Moreover, the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and methodsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can beimplemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (“DSP”), an ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logicdevice, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components,or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions describedherein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor can be any processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine and the processing can be performed ona single piece of hardware or distributed across multiple servers orrunning on multiple computers that are housed in a local area ordispersed across different geographic locations. A processor can also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

Additionally, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly inhardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in acombination of the two. A software module can reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumincluding a network storage medium. An exemplary storage medium can becoupled to the processor such the processor can read information from,and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, thestorage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and thestorage medium can also reside in an ASIC.

The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Variousmodifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can beapplied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention. Thus, it is to be understood that the description anddrawings presented herein represent a presently preferred embodiment ofthe invention and are therefore representative of the subject matterwhich is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is furtherunderstood that the scope of the present invention fully encompassesother embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the artand that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited bynothing other than the appended claims.

1. A method of distributing articles made by serial production into astorage unit, comprising: distributing an article onto an articleconveyor on a transport platform of an article distributing apparatuspositioned in a start position above a storage area within a storageunit; selecting a storage position in the storage area from a pluralityof adjacent article storage positions in at least one row extendingalong the storage area beneath the article conveyor; driving thetransport platform in a horizontal transport direction to a locationabove the selected storage position; actuating the article conveyor totransport the article off the platform, whereby the article falls onto afloor of the storage area at the selected storage position or onto astack of previously stacked articles at the selected storage position;driving the transport platform back to the start position to receive asubsequent article to be distributed into the storage area; andrepeating the foregoing steps to distribute a plurality of articles oneby one to selected storage positions in the storage area.
 2. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: monitoring the fill level of stacks ofarticles at the storage positions; if the storage area is not full ofarticles after distributing an article into the storage area,distributing another article to a selected storage position in thestorage area which is not full; and continuing to distribute successivearticles into selected storage positions in the storage area until allstorage positions are full.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thearticles are bags of ice received from an ice making and bagging machineand the storage area comprises a temperature controlled storage unit. 4.The method of claim 3, further comprising positioning each bag receivedon the transport platform in a horizontal orientation with a first faceof the bag upwards prior to driving the platform to the selected storageposition.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of positioning eachbag comprises driving the bag conveyor in a predetermined direction asthe bag is received onto the platform so as to rotate the bag into thehorizontal orientation.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step oftransporting the bag off the platform comprises partially rotating thebag so that it rotates into a reverse orientation with a second faceupwards as it falls from the platform to the storage position.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the storage area comprises at least twoside-by-side rows of adjacent storage positions and the step ofselecting a storage position comprises selecting a storage position in afirst or second row of the side-by-side rows.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising moving the transport platform between at least twodifferent article distributing positions relative to the carriagecomprising a first article distributing position in which at least oneend of the platform is located above the first row and a second articledistributing position in which at least one end of the platform islocated above the second row, the transport platform being positioned ina selected article distributing position above the row in which theselected storage position is located prior to conveying the article offthe platform
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of moving thetransport platform comprises rotating the storage platform between atleast two different article distributing orientations comprising thefirst and second article distributing positions.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein the first article distributing position comprises anorientation aligned with the horizontal transport direction and thesecond article distributing position comprises an orientation which istransverse to the horizontal transport direction.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising monitoring the fill level of articles ateach storage position in the storage area as the transport platform isdriven back and forth in the horizontal direction over the storagepositions and storing the current fill levels, and the step of selectinga storage position for distributing a bag into the storage area furthercomprises analyzing the current stored fill levels and selecting astorage position which is not filled to capacity.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the selection of a storage position is based on apredetermined article distributing sequence for the plurality of storagepositions and the current fill levels at each storage position.
 13. Anapparatus for distributing a series of articles at different storagepositions in a storage compartment, comprising: a horizontal guide rail;a carriage movably mounted on the guide rail; a horizontal conveyorwhich is configured to drive the carriage back and forth in a horizontaldirection along the guide rail; an article support platform movablymounted on the carriage and configured for movement between at leastfirst and second horizontal article dispensing positions relative to thecarriage, the platform configured to receive successive articles from asupply of articles when positioned in a start position to receivearticles from a serial article supply; a platform drive associated withthe platform and configured to move the platform between the first andsecond article dispensing positions; an article distributor on thearticle support platform which is configured to drive articles off theplatform into storage positions in a first row when the platform is inthe first article dispensing position and into storage positions in asecond row when the platform is in the second article dispensingposition; and a controller associated with the horizontal conveyor,platform drive, and article distributor which is configured to controlthe horizontal conveyor and platform drive to drive the platform to alocation above a selected storage position in the first or second row,and to control the article distributor to drive the article off theplatform to drop into the selected storage position.
 14. The apparatusof claim 13, further comprising at least one detector connected to thecontroller and configured to detect a fill level at each storageposition when the carriage is driven along the guide rail over a storagearea.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the carriage has ahorizontal support arm and the article support platform is movablymounted on the support arm for movement between the first and secondarticle dispensing positions.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein thesupport arm has a lower face and first and second detectors mounted onthe lower face and configured to detect fill levels in the first andsecond storage rows beneath the apparatus, the detectors having outputsconnected to the controller.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein thearticle support platform is rotatably mounted for rotation between firstand second orientations relative to the carriage which correspond to thefirst and second article dispensing positions, respectively, and theplatform drive is configured to rotate the platform between the firstand second orientations.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein thesecond platform orientation is perpendicular to the first platformorientation.
 19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the articledistributor comprises an endless conveyor belt configured to supportarticles received on the platform and a conveyor belt drive configuredto drive the conveyor belt in at least a first direction to conveyarticles off the platform.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein theplatform has opposite first and second ends and the conveyor beltextends between the first and second ends of the platform.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein the conveyor belt drive is configured todrive the conveyor belt in first and second opposite directions to drivearticles selectively off the first and second ends of the platform, andthe first and second ends of the platform are configured for locationabove different storage positions in the first row when the platform isin the first orientation.
 22. The apparatus of claim 20, furthercomprising rollers at opposite ends of the platform about which theendless conveyor belt extends, whereby portions of the conveyor beltextending over the rollers define the opposite first and second convex,rounded ends of the platform, and the conveyor belt is configured torotate articles on the belt as they are driven off the belt, wherebyeach article flips over as it falls off the conveyor onto a stack ofarticles in a storage position.
 23. A bagged ice storage and dispensingsystem, comprising: a temperature controlled storage unit having aninternal storage area, an upper wall, a lower wall, a front wall, a rearwall, and opposite ends, at least one door in the front wall allowingaccess to the storage area; the lower wall of the storage unit definingat least a first row of adjacent storage positions configured to supportstacked bags of ice; an opening in the upper wall communicating with abagged ice supplier and configured to receive successive bags of ice fordistribution into the storage unit; a bag distributing unit secured inan upper portion of the storage unit and extending horizontally abovethe first row of storage positions, the distributing unit comprising ahorizontal rail extending parallel to the first row, a carriage movablymounted on the horizontal rail, a horizontal drive configured to drivethe carriage back and forth in a horizontal path along the rail, ahorizontal support platform mounted on the carriage, the platform havinga conveyor configured to support a bag of ice on the platform and aconveyor drive associated with the conveyor which is configured to drivethe conveyor in at least a first direction to convey a bag off theplatform and drop the bag into an underlying storage position; and acontroller associated with the bag distributing unit and configured tocontrol the horizontal drive and conveyor drive to drive the supportplatform to selected positions in the horizontal path and to actuate theconveyor drive at each selected position to convey a bag off theplatform and into the underlying storage position.
 24. The system ofclaim 23, wherein the lower wall of the storage unit defines first andsecond side-by-side rows of stacked bag storage positions, and thesupport platform is movably mounted on the carriage, the system furthercomprising a platform drive configured to move the platform between afirst position for distributing bags into the first row and a secondposition for distributing bags into the second row, the controller beingconfigured to control the platform drive to move the platform back andforth between the first and second positions for distribution of bagsinto the first and second rows, respectively.
 25. The system of claim24, wherein the support platform is rotatably mounted on the carriageand the platform drive comprises a rotational drive configured to rotatethe platform between first and second orientations corresponding to thefirst and second distributing positions, respectively.
 26. The system ofclaim 23, wherein the conveyor drive is reversible and the platform isconfigured for distribution of bags off opposite ends of the platforminto underlying storage positions in the first row.
 27. The system ofclaim 23, further comprising at least one detector configured to detectfill levels at the respective storage positions and provide current filllevel outputs to the controller, the controller including a fill leveldetection module configured to determine whether all storage positionsare full to capacity and a distribution control module which controlsthe bag distribution unit to stop delivery of bags of ice into thestorage unit when all storage positions are full and controls the bagdistribution unit to deliver bags to storage positions which are notfull when the storage unit is not full to capacity.
 28. The system ofclaim 27, wherein the storage unit has at least one detector whichdetects opening of the door and provides a door open detection signal tothe controller when the door is open, the distribution control modulebeing configured to control the bag distribution unit to stop deliveryof bags of ice into the storage area when the door is open and tore-start delivery of bags of ice when the door is re-closed.
 29. Thesystem of claim 27, wherein the controller further comprises a baggedice delivery control module which is configured to stop delivery of bagsof ice to the bag distribution unit when all storage positions are full,and to re-start delivery of bags of ice to the bag distribution unitwhen at least some storage positions are no longer full.
 30. The systemof claim 29, wherein the controller is configured to increase the speedof delivery of bags of ice to the bag distribution unit when storagecapacity in the storage area reaches a predetermined level.
 31. Thesystem of claim 24, wherein the carriage has a support arm extendingtransverse to the first and second rows and the platform is movablymounted on the support arm, the support arm having a lower wall facingthe lower wall of the storage unit, and first and second detectors arepositioned on the lower wall and configured to detect bag fill levels inthe storage positions in the first and second rows, respectively, thedetectors having outputs connected to the controller.
 32. A bagged icedispensing machine, comprising: a temperature controlled storagecompartment having an internal storage area having at least first row ofbagged ice storage positions for storing adjacent stacks of bagscontaining ice, the storage compartment having an upper wall with anopening for receiving bags of ice into the storage compartment; a bagdistributing unit secured in an upper portion of the storage unit andextending horizontally above the first row of storage positions, thedistributing unit comprising a horizontal rail extending parallel to thefirst row, a carriage movably mounted on the horizontal rail, ahorizontal support platform mounted on the carriage, a horizontal driveconfigured to drive the carriage back and forth in a horizontal pathalong the rail from a start position in which the platform is locatedunder the opening in the upper wall, the platform having a conveyorconfigured to support a bag of ice on the platform and a conveyor driveassociated with the conveyor which is configured to drive the conveyorin at least a first direction to convey a bag off the platform and dropthe bag into an underlying storage position; an ice bagging unit mountedabove the storage compartment and having a bagged ice outletcommunicating with the opening in the upper wall of the storagecompartment and at least one ice receiving inlet at an upper end of theice collecting and bagging unit, the ice collecting and bagging unitconfigured to collect ice from the ice receiving inlet, supply apredetermined amount of ice to successive bags, and supply bags of iceto the bagged ice outlet; an ice making unit mounted above the icecollecting and bagging unit and having an ice outlet communicating withthe ice receiving inlet; and a controller associated with ice makingunit, ice bagging unit, and bag distributing unit which has an icemaking and bagging control module configured to control the ice makingand bagging units based on detected storage capacity in the storagecompartment, and a bag distribution control module which controls thebag distributing unit to distribute bags to selected unfilled storagepositions in the storage compartment.
 33. The machine of claim 32,wherein the storage compartment has first and second side-by-side rowsof bagged ice storage positions beneath the bag distributing unit, andthe support platform is configured to selectively distribute bags intothe first and second rows of storage positions.
 34. The machine of claim33, further comprising at least first and second detectors linked to thecontroller and positioned to detect the fill levels at storage positionsin the first and second row, respectively, the controller configured tomonitor the detector outputs to detect fill levels at the storagepositions and to control the bag distributing unit to distribute bags toselected unfilled storage positions in the first and second rows.